Why Companies Are Switching to Cloud Business Solutions

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what is cloud computing

Cloud Business Solutions allow business owners to maximize their time and energy in 4 crucial ways.

It is no secret that business owners are turning to the internet for the majority of their administrative needs. Nearly all businesses these days use online services for their POS reporting, scheduling, data analysis, hiring, and file storage. Why? Switching to cloud business solutions allows business owners to maximize their time and energy by offering real time information, increased security, more proficient communication/collaboration, and access to the latest apps made specifically to increase productivity and their bottom line. Below we will discuss some of the advantages of cloud based business solutions in each of these areas.

Real Time Information

The pace of business in the world today requires instant access to real time information. Whether you are signing up for a new product or service, transferring documents, scheduling employees, or monitoring finances, you need to have access to real time information in order to effectively complete these and many other tasks. In order to keep up with your competition, you must have access to real time data when opportunities arise. If you have to go to your office in order to access information while your competitor can simply bring up everything on his/her phone, you have lost out on the opportunity. Find out how we can help you utilize cloud business solutions to access all of your business data and information in real time, instantly, so that you are not left behind while others capitalize immediately.

Increased Security

Antiquated file storage systems are a ticking time bomb in terms of security. What happens if an employee accidentally loads a virus onto your operating system that houses all of your important documents and files? What if you have a break in or fire at your office and everything gets destroyed? What if a disgruntled employee decides to delete critical documents from your office computer or share other employees personal information?

While you as a business owner don’t want to think about these, “what if” scenarios, they happen, often, and you need to protect yourself. Housing your critical and sensitive information in a cloud based system mitigates all of these “what if” scenarios. You can throw away the single computer that houses EVERYTHING you need to run your business, burn those file cabinets full of years of back payroll data, and give your staff members access only to specific information pertinent to their position.

More Proficient Communication/Collaboration

Are you still calling each member of your staff to update them on the latest promotion you have decided to run? Are you sending out memos to multiple staff emails, only to have to wait for a reply to make sure they received the information? Are you having to call multiple employees when schedule changes happen on the fly because someone gets sick or has an emergency? If you are doing any of these things, we’re sorry. Try cloud business solutions to alleviate all of these communication issues. You will be able to engage in real time communication with your staff on memos, business documents, scheduling, financials, reporting, and pretty much anything else you would like to communicate about. You can track changes, see views, set alerts for responses and much more. Stop waiting by your phone all afternoon for a callback. Use that time to find out more and make the switch today!

Access to the Latest Apps

Technology in business today is increasing faster than you as a business owner can learn about it. I am sure you have heard someone say, “there is an app for that” after you have proposed some lightbulb idea? Well, they are right. In order to access and capitalize on the people who have already developed your lightbulb idea for you, the rest of your operations must be up to date enough to integrate with them.

For example, you can’t utilize MailChimp to record and sort your customer demographics if your customers orders are all documented on paper invoices that are thrown in a box in your office. Check out this great article on cloud based app integration by MailChimp to see what we mean. You can’t utilize apps like HomeBase to manage your employees schedules if you don’t let the cloud manage their information. You can’t track and analyze your payroll automatically without utilizing cloud based apps like Gusto.

Cloud Business Solutions

In a nutshell, cloud based business solutions allow you to keep up with the accuracy, pace, and real time data needed in order to keep competitive in today’s business environment. Don’t get left behind. Get in touch with us and make the switch today!

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What’s New in Construction in 2018

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What’s New in Construction in 2018

Technology, urbanization, and convenience are the name of the game for construction in 2018. Read on to find out which business tech will become invaluable this year and where we will be seeing the most growth.

Public Transportation Is on the Rise

In 2018, you will find more and more projects coming up that are either to literally build public transportation infrastructure, or to create developments that are public transport centric. With most of the population now living in urban areas, the days of driving everywhere are gone. Housing, especially on the condo and apartment side of things, is in huge demand near transportation stops. Businesses seek out locations that their workforce can easily get to, and giants like Amazon even select what city their headquarters will be located in based on the quality of their public transportation. Expect to see the network of public transportation grow this year, along with everything around it.

Cloud Computing

Construction has always been an industry with a scattered workforce, and now technology makes it easier to communicate and cooperate with those in the office, at home, and on the job. Cloud technology and features such as remote desktop make it possible to access email, project management software, and more from any device. The construction industry has been one of the strongest sectors to embrace cloud computing, and that will only grow in 2018.

Use of Drones

Aside from just a popular toy, drones have a huge range of uses. The reason you see them on a lot of construction sites these days range from mapping job sites, to monitoring progress, to providing clients with project updates. Drones are really in their element at a job-site – where just a few years ago you had to send a photographer up a crane or cherry-picker just to get an aerial shot. Drones become cheaper and their features become more useful each year.

Labor Shortage Increases Calls for Automation

The labor shortage in construction has unfortunately continued into 2018. As we know too well, a desperate need is the fastest way to get new tech onto the market. Automation was a buzzword in 2017, and 2018 is when the talks get a little more serious. The lack of workforce in the construction industry is driving companies to look elsewhere for “man-power,” and it looks like automation just might be the answer.

Construction in 2018

The construction industry has to have the ability to both respond to today’s wants, and plan for the needs of the future. Keeping an eye on where the demand is headed, and what tech you need to be competitive, will put your company in a good place for years to come.

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What is Application Hosting?

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What is Application Hosting

Application hosting is a common feature for software today. For any program that doesn’t need to be downloaded onto your computer, it is more than likely a hosted application. The apps on your smartphone are a common example of hosted applications, but there are likely programs you access from your desktop every day that are hosted as well.

Those programs and all of that data must live somewhere – that is where the “hosted” part comes in. It might be stored on a server at the application maker’s headquarters or it might be with a DaaS provider. Have you heard of DaaS, or Desktop as a Service? That’s right – it is the same idea as application hosting. Users access applications and their saved data through the internet that is stored on a server owned by a cloud provider.

You Likely Already Use It

If you use Facebook, Gmail, and even Salesforce, you already know how to use a hosted application. They don’t require installation on your computer and you can access your saved data from anywhere, on any device. The program simply runs on the cloud provider or software maker’s servers and the user accesses it through the internet.

Common Application Hosting Uses for Business

With hosted application technology, also known as cloud computing, businesses no longer need to buy expensive servers and computers with a lot of memory. They can save money on equipment, electricity, and even personnel costs to run it all.

Modern businesses can fill just about every need with application hosting. Your email can be a hosted application with Hosted Exchange. Your desktop can be logged into from a different computer with Remote Desktop services. Popular business software like Salesforce, Hubspot, and Dropbox all live in the cloud. For a business that operates in the cloud, there is little need for anything more than basic computers and an internet connection.

Benefits of Hosted Applications

The many benefits of application hosting for both businesses and individual users are probably becoming very clear. It’s incredibly easy to get set up with a hosted application, and the cost savings are unbeatable. Below is an overview of the main benefits:

  • Remote Access – easy for employees to work from home or on job sites.
  • Cost Savings – less IT equipment and personnel needed.
  • Quick Set Up – no installation process necessary.
  • Easy to Keep up with Changing Technology – your current programs are easily updated by the provider, and if you want to switch software it’s painless to do so.
  • Software is More Affordable – the ease with which business owners can switch programs has helped drive the cost of cloud-based software down.

Application Hosting

Most of the programs you already use are likely cloud based, or can be made cloud based through the use of a provider. Get rid of those lengthy on-boarding times for new employees and the painful transition every time you want to try out new software. Moving to the cloud will be the easiest choice your business ever makes.

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Why Use a Hosted Exchange Server?

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hosted exchange server

For small and medium sized business owners, growing technical needs can be a big cause of stress. Many business owners try to handle IT tasks themselves, but wind up wasting time on inefficient and unsecure methods. What most business owners don’t realize though, is that using a managed service provider actually saves money and, of course, an immeasurable amount of time. One of the most popular features for businesses is a hosted exchange server. It is a secure and easy way to run your company’s email with no purchasing of a server required!

Secure Server

By using a hosted exchange provider, all of your data is stored on the provider’s secure servers. As an IT company, hosted exchange providers have the know-how to keep their servers air-right and security measures up to date. A common problem with setting up a DIY email server is just not knowing how to properly secure your information from hackers or viruses. Providers stay on top of patches and updates for your software and know how to block the common ways hackers try to get in. With the amount of sensitive information email can hold, proper security is a must.

Anti-Virus Protection for Email

Did you know you should be running an anti-virus on your email? You can keep employees from un-knowingly downloading a virus or opening a phishing email by preventing those emails from getting to their inbox in the first place. With a hosted exchange server, your provider will run an anti-virus for you. They will keep the majority of spam emails from reaching your inbox and will scan all attachments for viruses automatically.

Great Tech Support – No Call Centers!

Have you ever been in the middle of a technical crisis, dialed a help line, spent an hour on hold, only to end up speaking with someone reading from a script with no real knowledge of the issue? Yeah, us too. That is why having a local provider to take your calls and handle any issues right when they come up is so appealing. With hosted exchange, and Cloud Colorado in particular, your provider is located in the U.S. and connects you to real specialists when you have a problem.

Provider Handles Everything

With hosted exchange, your provider handles all of those complicated and time-consuming email related tasks for you. New employees will be on-boarded quickly, employees leaving will have their accounts forwarded, and helpful tools like distribution lists will all be set up by the provider. Don’t compromise convenience just because you can’t figure out how to set up a certain feature. Save time and money with a hosted exchange server.

Switch to a Hosted Exchange Server

Cloud Colorado is a hosted exchange provider with over 25 years of experience. We help companies every day reduce their time spent on technical problems and save money by switching to a service with predictable costs. Stop losing a day of work every time someone has a technical issue. Switch to a managed services provider. Learn more about Cloud Colorado’s hosted exchange and other services.

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Why is Relocation or Upgrading Hardware the Best Time to Move to the Cloud?

Move to the Cloud

For many business owners, a move to the cloud has been in the back of their mind for a while but it has never seemed like the “right time.” It can be difficult to alter procedure for employees, and of course, there is the worry it will be expensive. That is why the best time to make the switch to the cloud is when you are relocating, planning to upgrade hardware, or both. The move to the cloud can easily be made in the time it takes to make the change anyways, and using an MSP (managed service provider) in fact saves companies money. Let us tell you why.

The Cloud Requires Little Equipment on Site

What if I told you that you can replace your entire network with a brand new, state of the art network for less money than you spend to maintain your existing one?

A huge reason companies switch to cloud computing is that it requires little IT equipment to be owned by the company. The servers that run your programs and save your data are now kept off-site. If you are getting ready to make an upgrade, that may no longer be necessarily if you choose to move to the cloud. The equipment you do own needs fewer resources i.e.- RAM, disk space, processing and will last longer with cloud computing.

Relocating is a popular time to sell off equipment and set up new systems. If you switch to the cloud during a relocation, you will have less equipment to move with you and can set up any new systems at the same time you are setting up your new office space. The need for less equipment makes switching to the cloud an appealing choice.

Very Easy to Set Up

Moving to the cloud requires little-to-no on site infrastructure. That means that in a move, the whole mess of moving and setting up computer networks is all but eliminated. By using an MSP, your network lives “in the cloud,” or more literally, on their servers. Now, all your computers need is a connection to the internet!

Save Money

MSPs, or managed service providers, own a lot of the equipment associated with cloud computing. There is no longer a need to upkeep servers on-site or purchase computers with a ton of computing power. When your entire desktop is cloud based, no programs or data are actually saved on your device. They are all stored off-site, and only accessed by your device. That older laptop that was running slower and slower might work just fine now with a remote desktop.

Another huge way to save money is that less IT staff are usually needed when you make the switch to the cloud. If you were worried that you would need to hire more staff to handle the growing needs of your company’s technology, a move to the cloud can fill that need for you.

The Best Time to Move to the Cloud

Moving to the cloud can seem like an intimidating change, but there is a reason almost all new companies don’t even bother with a traditional network – it saves money and is more convenient. When it comes to business, you can’t quite beat those two features. Taking advantage of upgrading or relocating makes the switch that much easier!

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